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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoSTEPHAN SAVOIA | ASSOCIATED PRESSMacy’s was hurt by winter weather that kept shoppers away from malls. But the retailer is sticking by its full-year earnings outlook, indicating that it thinks the April sales surge will continue.

From wire reports

After a slow, cold winter, Macy’s Inc. saw its business improve in April as the spring thaw
heated up shoppers’ demand for shorts and T-shirts, the department store chain said yesterday.

But Mother Nature’s aid came too late to boost the department-store chain’s first-quarter sales,
which missed expectations despite a 3.2 percent increase in profit.

Macy’s stuck by its full-year earnings outlook, indicating it thinks the April sales surge will
continue.

Investors pushed shares slightly higher in midday trading as Macy’s raised its dividend by 25
percent and increased its stock buyback program as a reflection of its confidence.

“Overall, business trends were soft in January through March, with the exception of the
Valentine’s Day shopping period,” Macy’s Chairman and CEO Terry J. Lundgren said in a
statement.

“The trend improved in April when the weather began to turn in northern climate zones. We see
this as a good sign moving forward into the second quarter.”

Macy’s, which has corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, was hurt by winter snowstorms
and rain that kept shoppers away from malls.

Macy’s said that it earned $224 million, or 60 cents per share, in the quarter that ended on May
3. That compares with $217 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1.7 percent, to $6.28 billion.

Analysts had expected a profit of 59 cents on revenue of $6.46 billion.

Deere

Deere reported yesterday a 9.5 percent decline in second-quarter net income on lower demand for
farming equipment and cut its sales forecast for the year.

The company beat Wall Street’s quarterly expectations on both profit and revenue, but the sales
outlook weighed on shares.

With farmer income projected to decline, Deere said sales of its agriculture and turf equipment
could fall 7 percent for the full year. It had projected 6 percent in February.

Net income in the most recent quarter dropped to $980.7 million, or $2.65 per share, compared
with $1.08 billion, or $2.76 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

That was much better than the per-share forecast of $2.47 on Wall Street, according to a poll of
analysts taken by FactSet.

Revenue fell 8.9 percent, to $9.95 billion, from $10.91 billion, but that also edged out analyst
expectations for $9.63 billion.

Sony

Sony Corp. reported a $1.3 billion quarterly loss, hit by costs from selling its
personal-computer business, and is forecasting more red ink as it struggles to execute a
long-promised turnaround.

The Tokyo-based maker of the PlayStation 4 game machine, Bravia TVs and Walkman digital player
also reported yesterday a loss of $1.3 billion for the fiscal year through March 2014, about three
times its loss of the previous year.

It forecast a $490 million loss for the year ending March 2015 as overall sales are expected to
be flat.